Pre-History to Civilizations

 

Acropolis:  hilltop in ancient Greece that contained government and religious buildings.

AD:  date designation meaning "Anno Domini"  are used to label dates in the Julian or Gregorian calendars.  This calendar is based on the year of the birth of Jesus.  There is no zero to the year 1AD immediately follows the year 1 BC.

Agriculture:  the farming of land, producing of crops, and raising of animals for human consumption.

Aqueducts:  above ground structures used to carry fresh water long distances, built by the Ancient Romans.

Arch:  a curved symmetrical  structure that supports the weight of a bridge, roof, or wall above it.

Archeologist:  scientists that study the remains of past human life and activity these include the study of artifacts from the earliest stone tools to man-made objects that are buried or thrown away in modern day.

Artifact:  a handmade object, a tool, pottery, an item of cultural or historical interest.

BCE:   BC (before Christ), or before common era,  (please note that B.C.E before common era and C.E common era, are exactly the same as B.C. and A.D. but have nothing to do with Christianity.)

Block Printing:    A system of printing in which a character is carved onto wood.  The block is then inked and pressed onto a sheet of paper.

Caste System:

CE:  date designation meaning common era, is an alternative naming of the traditional calendar AD "Anno Domini"

City-state:  cities in ancient Greece that had their own government, but shared cultural traits such as religion, language, and clothing.

Civil service exam:   in China, it was an exam that was used based on Confucius' teachings to place people into various government positions.

Civilization: a society that has a high level of social organization,  including organized government, job specialization and organized belief system.

Culture:  the  tools, behaviors, ideas, beliefs, clothing, language, religion, etc., of a group of people.

Cultural diffusion:  the spread of ideas or traits from one culture to another.

Decentralized Government:   when a large region such as a continent lacks a unified government.

Direct Democracy:  all citizens have the right to attend assembly and cast a vote rather than electing people to represent them.  Citizens would vote directly on laws. 

Divine:  Godlike, or coming from, or having to do with God.

Dynasty:  A succession of rulers of a country from the same family.

Fertile Crescent:  the area of land that lies between around a river that provides fertile soil which led to the development of early centers of civilization.

Feudalism:  a period of time in which  poverty, lack of education, and/or warfare lead to the decentralization of government.  Local landowners usually gain power by exploiting peasant farmers. 

Filial piety:  a part of Confucianism where respect is paid to parents.

Five Relationships:   Confucian philosophy about social order where everyone has a place and respect is paid to elders, parents, and the government.

Geography:   the study of the earth, people, their environments, and resources.

Golden Age:  a time in a culture of high achievement in art, reading, writing, math and science.  Generally occurs in a time of peace, with a stable government.

Hellenistic:  a mixing of Persian, Greek, Egyptian, and Indian culture as a result of Alexander the Great's military campaigns.

Hominid:  a term used to describe early humans, in the family of humans.

Iconoclam:   the deliberate destruction within a culture of the culture's own religious icons, symbols, statues, or religious images, usually for religious or political reasons.

Irrigation:  a system to bring water to support crops.

Justinian Code: the law code of the Byzantine Empire which organized earlier Roman laws.

Migrate:  the mass movement of people from one place to another, either permananetly or temporarily.

Middle Ages:  the period of European history fromt he fall of Rome to the fall of the Byzantine Empire, approximatly 492-1453.  (also referred to as Medieval Times, or the Dark Ages)

Neolithic Age: the period just before the development of civilization, during this period early humans began setllting in small villages, and is best known for the first settled farming communities.

Paleolithc Age:  the period of time in which hominids developed basic human charachteristics, creation of fire, cave drawings, first tools (arrow heads), hunting and gathering.

Philosopher:  a person who seeks to understand and explain the world around them.

Philosophy:  a system of thought devoted to the examination of ideas such as truth, existence, reality, religion, and freedom.

Pre-history:  the period of human development before written records.

Primary Source:  a document, artifact, photo, recording, or video that was created  at the time under study.  An original source.

Republic:  a political system in which a country is ruled by law, has a representative government, and is democratic in nature.

Secondary Source:  are documents written after an event has occurred.  Providing secondhand accounts of that event, person, or topic.

Technology:  is the making, modification, usage and knowledge of tools in order to solve a problem or achieve a goal.  This can include the most simple tools that early humans used to the most advanced computers that exist in our world today.

Topography:   the surface features of the Earth.

Ziggurat:  a stepped tower or pyramid of ancient Mesopotamia, this tower is one of the technological advancements of the people of Mesopotamia.